1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a reorder processing technique using a recording medium to record order information for making photographic prints from piece negatives.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a negative film used in taking pictures with a camera is brought to a photo processing agent for simultaneous printing. At a developing laboratory, the negative film is developed and image frames rendered visible are printed on printing paper. The prints and the developed negative film are handed over from the photo processing agent to the customer. Prior to this, the negative film is cut into piece negatives each having four or six frames, and individual piece negatives are put into separate holders or pockets of a negative sheet formed of transparent resin film. To enable the custom to order additional prints with ease, the negative sheet includes white, satin finished areas formed under each holder and corresponding in number to the frames on each negative piece, for entering numbers of additional prints. When ordering additional prints, the customer writes, with a pen, a desired number of prints in the number entering area corresponding to each selected image frame. An operator at the developing laboratory takes the piece negatives out of the holders having the number entering areas filled in with numbers of additional prints to be made, and feeds the piece negatives into a printer to make the required numbers of additional prints. Alternatively, the operator must make additional prints after inputting, through a keyboard, all the numbers written in the additional print number entering areas and the image frame numbers of the negative sheet. However, the numbers written by the customer with a pen are not only difficult to read mechanically (i.e. with an optical, electronic or magnetic reading device), but may be difficult even for the operator at the developing laboratory to confirm with the eyes. To enable the reorder information to be read reliably at the developing laboratory, attempts have been made by the photo processing agent to transcribe the reorder information to a reorder card. In this case, the numbers of image frames to be additionally printed and the numbers of additional prints are read from the reorder card to be inputted to the printer. Thus, the printer reads bar codes in latent images formed on the piece negatives fed therein, and sets the image frames to be additionally printed to an exposing position by using the image frame numbers read and the reorder information inputted from the reorder card.
In any case, in the above conventional transfer of reorder information to the printer, the numbers of additional prints written on the negative sheet and information on positions of image frames to be additionally printed are not inputted directly to the controller inside the printer. This step of transferring reorder information to the printer has been an obstacle to automation of the additional printing process.